Here comes the 17-year lamp

GE Lighting's new Smart LED bulb is expected to consume just 9 W, provide a 77% energy savings and produce nearly the same light output as a 40-W incandescent bulb, while lasting more than 25 times as long.

GE says it designed the bulb to better direct light downward on the intended surface and all around, not just out the top of a lampshade, as most current LED bulbs are prone to do. The new GE LED bulb offers 450 lumens—the Energy Star threshold to be considered a 40-W incandescent replacement. Currently available LED bulbs produce 350 lumens or less. GE has filed multiple patent applications for the bulb and expects it will be an Energy Star-qualified LED omnidirectional light bulb.

The bulb has an expected 25,000-hour rated life. It will last 17 years (4 hours per day), which is 25 times longer than a general service 40-W incandescent or halogen bulb and more than 3 times longer than a standard 8,000-hour rated life CFL.

GE's release on the new bulb can be found here:

http://www.genewscenter.com/Press-Releases/GE-Fast-Forwards-to-Future-of-LED-Lighting-2717.aspx